In 1855, the William Wesencraft family arrived in the Riverside area to establish a farm and orchards. Wesencraft bought 26 1/2 acres of land that extended from the Des Plaines River to what is now Cowley Road in the southwest section of Riverside. The home he built (the oldest house in Riverside) is now located in a much altered state at 78 Pine Avenue where it was moved decades later.

In 1862, a railroad system was organized to run west out of Chicago parallel to the South West Plank Road. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad purchased a strip of land from William Wesencraft for a right-of-way and laid a double track from Chicago west to the Des Plaines River and then built a station at the west terminal in Riverside that was called "Lyons". The Railroad opened for operation in May, 1864. In 1889, the "Wesencraft subdivision", privately owned and excluded from the original plan of Riverside, was finally acquired by the village of Riverside.